2015 Trademark Administrators & Practitioners (TMAP) Meeting

Meeting Registration opens at the Meliá Alicante Hotel

Guided Tour of Castle of Santa Bárbara

Before the Welcome Reception, join fellow registrants for a guided tour of one of Spain’s largest medieval fortresses situated at the top of Mount Benacantil. Learn about the Castle’s history while discovering its dungeons, cisterns, and famous lookout tower! Courtesy of OHIM, complimentary round-trip bus service will be available from the Meliá Alicante Hotel starting at 6:45 pm.

The guided tour is limited to the first 100 people but you are more than welcome to tour the castle on your own.

Welcome Reception at Castle of Santa Bárbara (hosted by OHIM)

Come join us as we kick-off the meeting with fellow registrants and colleagues! Enjoy a cocktail and the exceptional views of the city and Alicante Bay.

Registration and Information Desk opens at OHIM, Auditorium Europa

Breakfast

Welcome Remarks and Meeting Overview

2015 INTA President: J. Scott Evans, Adobe Systems Incorporated (United States)

TMAP Meeting Co-Chairs:
Imogen Fowler, Hogan Lovells (Alicante) SL y Cia. (Spain)
Diane Lau, Yahoo! Inc. (United States)

Keynote Address

Christian Archambeau, Vice President, Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) (Spain)

Christian Archambeau took office as OHIM Vice-President on December 1, 2010 following his appointment by the Council of the European Union. He is also Director for Infrastructure and is responsible for the delivery of significant IT and building projects under OHIM’s strategic plan for 2011-2015.

A native of Belgium, he graduated from Université libre de Bruxelles as a civil engineer and worked in construction in the Middle East before moving to the European Space Agency in facility management. Prior to joining OHIM, he held a number of senior positions in the European Patent Office in Infrastructure, Administration and Human Resources.

What’s New in the EU? — Harmonization and Changes to the Law and Practice
(General Session – Session One)

This session will explore the changes to the Community trade mark Regulation and Directive, the implementation of the Cooperation Fund and Convergence Program, and major practice changes in the European Union.

Receive practical guidance on the impact of the legislative package and what it means in terms of filing, securing and enforcing your trademarks in the future.

Learn how harmonized the EU really is, what changes have been made to the way the EU offices work and the differences of which you need to be aware.

Moderator:
Imogen Fowler, Hogan Lovells (Alicante) SL y Cia. (Spain)

Speakers:
Deborah Brincat, Procter & Gamble (France)
Dennis Scheirs, Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) (Spain)

Break

Searching and Filing — Where Do I Start?
(General Session – Session Two)

This session will cover practical tips for clearing and filing marks in China, the European Union and the United States.

The expert panel of speakers will provide:

• Best ways to clear names in these countries/jurisdictions and the tools that are available to you.
• Guidance on the country-specific nuances of drafting specifications.
• Strategies for clearing and filing local-language marks.

Moderator:
Deborah Brincat, Procter & Gamble France SAS (France)

Speakers:
Imogen Fowler, Hogan Lovells (Alicante) SL y Cia. (Spain)
Diane Lau, Yahoo! Inc. (United States)
Scott Palmer, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton (China)

Lunch

Social Media — Where and How to Be Present
(Concurrent Session – Session Three)

Gain essential knowledge about the ever-growing social media landscape. This session will cover rising trends in infringement on social media, discuss takedown procedures and remedies for enforcing one’s brand on social media, provide practical tips for devising a social media strategy and guidelines for corporations, and explore case studies of successful social media presence.

Moderator:
Nicole Roessger, Red Bull GmbH (Austria)

Speakers:
Luca Barbero, Studio Barbero (Italy)
Shama Elliott, American International Group, Inc. (United States)

Litigation in Europe and the Community Trade Mark Court
(Concurrent Session – Session Four)

With 28 different countries in the European Union and a few more European countries outside the EU, there are lots of courts to choose from. In the first part of this session, we’ll discuss which courts you can sue and be sued in and when — understand the types of infringements over which the courts have jurisdiction, and the territorial scope of that jurisdiction. Get practical tips on how to pick the best court in which to bring your case.

In the second part of this session, we’ll take a detailed look at the Community trade mark Court in Alicante, the main court for non-EU entities. You’ll hear from its judges and practitioners about how this court works, what its latest cases have decided and how it differs from OHIM.

Moderator:
Luis de Larramendi, Elzaburu (Spain)

Speakers:
Enrique García-Chamón, Magistrate, President of the Spanish Community Trade Mark Court (Spain)
Morten Petersenn, Hogan Lovells International LLP (Germany)

Break

Table Topics
(Session Five)

Take a break from the larger educational sessions and join a moderated discussion for groups of ten people on a wide variety of timely and important issues. The following topics will be offered:

• A Global Analysis of Law on Color and other Non-Conventional Trademarks
• Best Practices When Instructing a Foreign Agent
• Co-Existence Agreements: Do’s & Don’ts
• Copyright vs. Trademark: What To Do When the Rights Clash
• How to Effectively Work with In-House Clients While Managing the Company’s Trademark Portfolio
• Optimize Your Community Trade Marks: Practical Tips and Strategy on Priority, Seniority and Conversion
• Protecting Famous Marks – Practical Tips and Strategies to Successfully Argue Dilution
• Trademarks as Hashtags: Best Practices and Are Hashtags Own-able?
• Trademarks Aspects of 3D Printing
• Use of a Trademark in a Form Differing from the Form it was Registered: What is Allowed under European Case Law?

Networking Reception

Join us for cocktails at the OHIM premises to network and discuss the day’s events with fellow TMAP attendees, speakers, colleagues, and OHIM Examiners.

Registration and Information Desk opens at OHIM, Auditorium Europa

Breakfast

Welcome and Daily Overview

TMAP Meeting Co-Chairs:
Imogen Fowler, Hogan Lovells (Alicante) SL y Cia. (Spain)
Diane Lau, Yahoo! Inc. (United States)

Keynote Address

Susana Fernández Martín, IP Director, INDITEX (Spain)

Susana obtained her Degree in Law from the University of Valladolid (Spain) in 1991 and her Master in legal practice from the Instituto de Empresa (Spain) 1992. She joined the legal department of INDITEX in June 1994 and is now the Head of the Corporate IP department at the Inditex Group.

Speak Your Mind: Public Speaking Gets Personal
(General Session – Session Six)

Dynamic speakers have a strong point of view about subject matter, and the key to engaging the audience is to make it personal. This highly entertaining session will tap the vast and varied resources of our distinguished speakers as they reveal their approach to a microphone, how they develop their material and — honestly — how to make sense of it all.

Moderator:
Rudy Gaines, Marksmen (United States)

Speakers:
Cristina Bercial-Chaumier, Casalonga (Spain)
Deborah Brincat, Procter & Gamble (France)
J. Scott Evans, Adobe Systems Incorporated (United States)
Mario Soerensen Garcia, Soerensen Garcia Advogados (Brazil)
Diane Lau, Yahoo! Inc. (United States)
Scott Palmer, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton (China)
Nicole Roessger, Red Bull GmbH (Austria)

Break

Major Trademark Law Changes around the World — Brazil, Canada and China
(General Session – Session Seven)

This session will focus on recent legislative and practice developments in Brazil, Canada and China and the implications such developments are likely to have on the work of trademark administrators and young practitioners working in the international context.

Moderator:
Scott Palmer, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton (China)

Speakers:
Shelagh Carnegie, Gowling Lafleur (Canada)
Mario Soerensen Garcia, Soerensen Garcia Advogados (Brazil)

Lunch

Online Brand Enforcement and Domain Names (New gTLDs)
(Concurrent Session – Session Eight)

Acquire essential information for enforcing and protecting your brands in the ever-evolving virtual world. Learn about current solutions and tools for monitoring and protecting your trademark rights online, especially in light of the new gTLDs.

Moderator:
Luca Barbero, Studio Barbero (Italy)

Speakers:
Luis de Larramendi, Elzaburu (Spain)
Shama Elliott, American International Group, Inc. (United States)
Rudy Gaines, Marksmen (United States)

TMAs: Who, What, Where, How
(Concurrent Session – Session Nine)

Join us for an engaging panel discussion among experienced trademark administrators from different organizations across the globe as they demystify the various titles, roles and responsibilities of a trademark administrator and discuss how these vary by organization and jurisdiction.

Benchmark your practices and pick up valuable tips and insights as the panelists share their experiences with:

• Managing global trademark portfolios
• Day-to-day responsibilities
• Career advancement
• Valuable resources that are available to trademark administrators

You will also be treated to a demonstration of INTA’s newly launched online publication Trademark Administration.

Moderator:
Diane Lau, Yahoo! Inc. (United States)

Speakers:
Deborah Brincat, Procter & Gamble (France)
Samantha Park, Gill Jennings & Every (United Kingdom)
Nicole Roessger, Red Bull (Austria)

Break

DEMO: OHIM Search Tools

Learn how to take advantage of OHIM search tools. This demonstration will include the latest updates on various free tools and databases including:

• TMview, with more than 25 million searchable trademarks from IP offices worldwide.
• TMclass, the global goods and services classification tool.
• Enforcement Database, which links rights-holders and enforcement authorities across the European Union.

Speakers:
Blanca Arteche, Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) (Spain)
Jesús Calvo, Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) (Spain)
Magnus Jaensson, Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) (Spain)

OHIM LIVE!
(General Session – Session Ten)

This interactive, moderated question-and-answer session will include examiners of Community trade mark applications, examiners from the OHIM Opposition and Cancellation Divisions, a member of the OHIM Boards of Appeal and a member of the OHIM Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights.

• Receive guidance on how to overcome problems in getting your marks registered.
• Preparation and drafting of submissions in opposition and cancellation proceedings (substance, proof of use, etc.).
• Find out how the appeal process works, from start to finish.

Moderator:
Imogen Fowler, Hogan Lovells (Alicante) SL y Cia. (Spain)

Speakers:
Sylvie Albrecht, Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) (Spain)
Blanca Arteche, Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) (Spain)
Thom Clark, Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) (Spain)
Mark Kennedy, Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) (Spain)
Yannick Munch, Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) (Spain)
Cinzia Negro, Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) (Spain)
Vanessa Page, Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) (Spain)
Luca Rampini, Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) (Spain)
Alexander Schifko, Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) (Spain)

Adjournment and Closing Remarks

Closing Reception at Ocean Race Club

Join us for cocktails and network with new friends while enjoying beautiful views of the Mediterranean Sea. The event will be catered by Q-Linaria with a menu featuring some of Alicante’s most famous foods.